XPost: can.politics, ont.politics, bc.politics   
   From: ConsRCons@govt.cda   
      
   We know where and when it became a full-out assault on the privacy and   
   rights of Americans.   
   It was under the psychopath we know as George W. Bush.  And his 'Patriot   
   Act'.   
      
   But the full-out assault on CANADIAN privacy and rights happened under   
   the government of Stephen Harper and his Cons.   
   The reversal of snooping Acts and legislation must become an issue going   
   into the next federal election.  I know where Thomas Mulcair would stand   
   on the issue.  But Justin Trudeau?   
   _____________________________________________________   
      
   09 Aug 2013   
      
      
   Snowden fallout claims second email service   
   Silent Circle shuts after Lavabit amid reports US government is   
   attempting to access whistleblower's messages.   
      
      
   A second United States email service has shut down amid reports that the   
   US government was attempting to gain access to encrypted messages sent   
   by whistleblower Edward Snowden.   
      
   A company named Silent Circle on Friday said it would close its secure   
   email service, hours after Lavabit said it would shut down rather than   
   "become complicit in crimes against the American people".   
      
   "We see the writing on the wall, and we have decided that it is best for   
   us to shut down Silent Mail," the statement said on Friday, citing the   
   Lavabit decision.   
      
   "We have not received subpoenas, warrants, security letters, or anything   
   else by any government, and this is why we are acting now."   
   Snowden is reported to have used the Lavabit service to communicate with   
   journalists and share information about the National Security Agency's   
   huge spying programme targeting American citizens and millions of   
   foreigners.   
      
   The owner of Lavabit, Ladar Levison, said in a statement on Thursday: "I   
   have been forced to make a difficult decision. As things currently   
   stand, I cannot share my experiences over the last six weeks, even   
   though I have twice made the appropriate requests."   
      
   No privacy guarantee   
      
   Those six weeks match the period since Snowden leaked information about   
   huge secret electronic spying operations by the US National Security   
   Agency, suggesting the government was trying to access Lavabit's servers   
   and had gagged the company from saying so.   
      
   "This experience has taught me one very important lesson: without   
   congressional action or a strong judicial precedent, I would strongly   
   recommend against anyone trusting their private data to a company with   
   physical ties to the United States," Levison wrote.   
      
   Unlike popular email services such as Google Mail, Lavabit allowed users   
   to securely encrypt messages on its servers, which could then only be   
   accessed with the user's password.   
      
   Lavabit's statement did not name Snowden or refer to any particular   
   investigation, but the statement's timing - and other material in the   
   public domain - suggest that it was being compelled by the NSA to give   
   them access to Snowden's account, and decided to shut down rather than   
   comply.   
      
   Levison said the company has started preparing the paperwork needed to   
   fight in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is based in Richmond,   
   Virginia. He could not be reached for comment.   
      
   "All of this tells us the same lesson: almost nothing we do on the   
   internet can be protected from government prying and spying," said   
   Michael Ratner, a US lawyer who has worked for anti-secrecy website   
   WikiLeaks, a Snowden ally.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)